Rubio had an opportunity last night, responding to the SOTU, and he's got a new opportunity this morning. The most interesting thing — and this is our humanity showing through too — is that he needed water. That was more interesting than his speech and even more interesting than Obama's big, long speech we'd just endured. Something real happened! Spontaneity! We all identify. I love the look on his face as he glances at the camera while drinking:

I read the look to say: Oh, no! Is this going to ruin my political career?! This! A little sip of water?! Meanwhile, it's a big win for Poland Spring in the tiny bottle form. That was a hell of a product endorsement. You can't buy product placement like that.

Rubio and Rubio supporters can make taking a drink from a little water bottle into a thing. It's such an innocent and pure foible, needing a drink of water. It's a nice meme for him. Humanizing. Wholesome. Downside is: Too much plastic waste. So recycle. The best way to deal with the bottles is to refill them with tap water. And the best way to deal with a goof like that is to refill it with humor (and branding).

ADDED: You know, it was pre-recorded. They could have done another recording if they'd wanted to.

It would be more humanizing if it was a nice cold beer. That would be awesome. If that happened, I bet nobody would change the station. Geeze, can we have just a sliver of uniqueness in our politics. Even the lies are getting boring.

Althouse: Rubio and Rubio supporters can make taking a drink from a little water bottle into a thing. It's such an innocent and pure foible, needing a drink of water. It's a nice meme for him. Humanizing. Wholesome.

Meant as a compliment -- for a moment here I thought I was reading a Peggy Noonan WSJ Saturday column.

My erratic memory strikes again. I remember many, many, many moons ago, Sen. Edmund Muskie delivering some Democratic response while seated in a chair. I recall that it was a longish address, and that in the middle of it, he matter of factly picked up a glass of water and took a sip from it, and it didn't seem the least bit awkward at all.

Flexible plastic water bottles should not be refilled. The softer the plastic, the more unstable the material, and the cells can start to break down into the water and be ingested. Same reason you should not store cases of those bottles in a sunny or very hot location.The best thing to do is get a steel or glass water bottle (Kleen Kanteen or similar) and reuse that.I thought everybody knew this but you mentioned refilling the bottles to cut down on waste so I thought I would mention.

I don't care what Rubio said or did. After Obama's sterling speech last night, I'm a new man. Energized and ready to go. The future looks cheery and bright. I'm walking on clouds.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me down It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

Oh yes I can make it now the pain is gone All of the bad feelings have disappeared Here is that rainbow I've been praying for It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way Here is that rainbow I've been praying for It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day Bri-ri-ri-ri-right Bright bright bright bright sun shiny day Oh yeah It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day.

It's sad that infinitely more energy and attention is paid to nuances of how he drinks some fucking water than the substance of his speech.

The country is rotten throughout almost all segments of society, from the indoctrinating union dominated school systems, to the lockstep conformity of higher academics, to the celebrity obsessed and substance free popular culture disseminated by an Obama fellating media.

Oh Amy. Why? Why did you need to do that? There is nothing wrong with refilling plastic bottles. Maybe if you planned on storing them for 50 years some molecules might migrate, but it still would be safer to drink that water than to drive to work one day sucking in pulverized car tires along the way.

Stop worrying about stuff. None of it is gonna hurt you. And the stuff that will is too fun to give up anyway. You are gonna die whether you worry and obsess or not. Choose Life! Now let's party!

The best way to deal with the bottles is to refill them with tap water.

And if you're going to fill them with tap water, do it from a tap. Don't block the drinking fountain for ten minutes trickling water into the gallon jug you have to carry everywhere just so everyone will know you're a doofus.

But the phelates and BPA in soft bottles have been shown to leach chemicals into the water, and can cause hormone-like activity in the body.As someone who survived a hormonally-driven cancer, I err on the side of caution, especially about something so easy.

Yes, I'm going to die one day anyway - I'd just rather it not be soon. I'll use up my risk factors on a good piece of cheesecake, too much keeping my cell phone by my ear, or unprotected sex. :)

Didn't watch. Did he do the finger thing? Moment. A Dem would have the 'moment' finger up before their mind would process as if the finger was doing the thinking, and as if it's your fault their mouth is dry for making them speak so long. Okay, hang on, I'm going to watch in another window. No! He did not do the finger thing. He would make a terrible Dem.

It's funny watching the leftists flail about to find something to criticize. Nevertheless a decades hence freshmen will learn the event was clearly racist and should have been disqualifying from office, much as today's young leftists were taught the SBVT allegations were "disproven".

I wasn't impressed with him either, til I watched his speech during the nomination this past year.

I remember him recalling how he'd hear his father leave for work every morning before dawn -- he'd hear his keys jingling in the lock as he went out the door, as he tried not to wake the rest of the family. It resonated with me, and you could tell that he really meant what he was saying.

Then again, as Althouse pointed out, we conservatives foolishly fawn over any slightly dusky person who utters anything the least bit conservative.

Flexible plastic water bottles should not be refilled. The softer the plastic, the more unstable the material, and the cells can start to break down into the water and be ingested. Same reason you should not store cases of those bottles in a sunny or very hot location.The best thing to do is get a steel or glass water bottle (Kleen Kanteen or similar) and reuse that.I thought everybody knew this but you mentioned refilling the bottles to cut down on waste so I thought I would mention.

Amy is correct. Confirmed unexpectedly by Dr. Susan Love. Growing cultures in the lab, some cancer cultures grew fast, some slowly. She exhausted all theories as to the difference in rate of growth. Finally saw this: The ones that grew fast were grown in plastic petri dishes. The others were in glass.

Now, as to Rubio's drink from a water bottle, I am certain in the future he will have a little table in front of him with a water bottle on it. I hope he lifts a water bottle and holds it up like a priest does the wine during Mass, and then drinks slowly from it whenever he is speaking in public from now on.

I am just freaking glad he wasn't drinking from one of those with a push/pull cap. People suck on those like a baby bottle. Can you imagine the photoshopping that could be done with THAT sort of bottle?

And, you know the Left is worried about the content of his speech, because they are making fun of a human being taking a drink of water. Crikey.

Cancer cultures growing in plastic is not plastic leeching into your water and causing cancer.

I didn't read Amy's comment closely enough. I don't believe the plastic leeches into the water. The plastic is coated in chemicals that can affect the water if left in hot conditions (i.e., sunny summer day inside a car).

Instead, he looked like a kid who screwed up and just knows his dad's gonna spank him when he gets home.

That was my problem with it too. Rubio doesn't present himself as an adult, he presents himself as an earnest high school student. Grabbing desperately at the water bottle underlined that "not ready for prime time" quality about him. Also, it's really unattractive to see someone sucking on a water bottle on TV. It looks like a baby bottle. He should have had water in a glass nearby.

You can say "Everyone's talking about the water, that's so superficial," but unfortunately our elections are decided on the basis of superficial impressions today. I think a big reason Obama beat Romney is that he came off better; Romney seemed like a big stiff, a square.

A quick search found this in Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, but it is not the statistic I am referring to.

It has been years since I read that information and I can't remember where it was. I have two chemically sensitive children (now adults), and when I had to learn a new way to live I read everything available. You could probably find it and other research with the correct search terms.